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Monday, 19 December 2016

Happy Christmas to you all! We have dressed the tree and done some of the shopping. Over here in England, the shops are extremely busy right now. Christmas Day falling on a Sunday means that the Saturday and Sunday shoppers, which includes me, have to go a different day and there has been much conjecture in our house as to which is the better day to go. Will it be Wednesday this week, or Thursday? I can't go Friday because I will be preparing for Saturday when we have visitors. Decisions, decisions!

We have a five foot tree and a four foot tree. This is the five foot one. It's in a corner where it can't be knocked over easily. Panda is still an adventurous teenager. So far he has ignored the tree, but there is still time for him to go into attack mode!

I used to wonder why he kept on climbing onto the back of Larry's chair and looking upwards at the old barometer, which used to belong to my dad. Then, one day, I realised he was trying to get at the ornate wooden bird, which sits on the top of it. I removed the bird, temporarily I hope, to give Larry a bit of peace and quiet from our adventurous cat. Millie, who is now twelve and a stately old lady, is not interested in things like this anymore, preferring to sleep most of the time with the odd moment of madness, which usually manifests itself in her running up and down the stairs for exercise.

Here is our adorable Ruby, six months old now and all dressed up in her father Christmas outfit.

Dylan has been an exemplary older brother to Ruby and it is plain to see that he loves her to bits.

In a child's eyes at Christmas. Here is Dylan looking at Father Christmas, last week...

Ruby loves Dylan reading her stories. Dylan is six years old and has a very good reading age. He is enjoying reading a bedtime story for his little sister. She is copying him already.

Monday, 14 November 2016

I've been reading your blogs over the past week and doing my own thinking too and I still can't get my head around Donald Trump being elected the next President of the U.S.

How did that happen? Who are these people who voted for Trump? Are they all mad as hatters?

Well, just like Brexit, it has happened and now we have to accept it and run with it! I've written quite a bit about Brexit lately. You can read my posts here if you want to see what I've put. When I write blogs I don't usually expect that anyone will be particularly interested in what I put so most of what I write is for myself, like a diary, something I can look back on it in years to come and enjoy or remember or whatever. Some of it is for other people.

When I was in America I discovered that life over there is very different to what I am used to so I started writing about the differences, both for my England friends and for the American ones.So when all this election business was going on, I found it most interesting. My husband, who is American, assured me that Donald Trump would never win the election. He is a businessman after all. What does he know about running a country the size of America? He's never been elected to public office (but never mind, he can't be any worse than the others! or can he??) He's rich and America apparently worships RICH!? If someone is rich, they must be doing it right? Right? No, wrong. What could he possibly know about how the poor live? How the African Americans suffer, even today? How people struggle to afford health insurance? or choose between having the insurance or sending their son or daughters to college? But never mind, he's rich, he's a good example of how it's supposed to be. Everyone can be like him, can't they? If not, why not? NO NO NO

He's got a very big learning curve to follow. Perhaps he'll have some good advisers.

The result of the election in America has been compared with Brexit over here, but in my opinion it is not the same thing at all. Yes, the world order is changing and we haven't seen all of it yet, but Brexit was about leaving the European Union, not electing a new President. Different all together.

So last Tuesday I woke early and put my I-pod buds in my ears. I didn't put on the radio because I didn't want to wake the rest of my expanding family. There are four of us in the house these days. I listened to Radio 4 from the BBC, which is a reliable source of news over here. I could not believe my ears when I heard the news and had to go and tell Larry straight away. He hardly believed me. 'No', he said, 'All the results aren't in yet,' but the ones that remained to come in would not make any difference as it turned out.

My first thought was did Trump pay people to vote for him? That wouldn't surprise me. Second thought was more about acceptance. Then I got annoyed because I thought people were not voting for a woman. Poor Hillary - stuck under that glass ceiling again.

Now, a week on and Donald Trump is back-tracking on almost everything he said during the campaign. Did that surprise me? No, of course not. After all he lied before, he's lying now and he will continue to lie and say whatever pops into his head in the future. We can all like it or lump it.

Just like during Brexit, the opinions have split the country. Interestingly, mostly older people over here voted for Brexit whilst the younger ones wanted to stay in the E.U. but over there it was mostly the rural communities who voted for Trump and many younger people too.

So what if Donald Trump was saying all those outrageous things just to get votes? Is that fair? Is that the way to go about things these days? Does it matter? It matters to me, does it matter to you?

Sunday, 23 October 2016

I have been doing a lot of family history recently. I also had my d.n.a. analysed through 23andme.com, which gave me some fascinating results.

One of the things I discovered was my maternal haplogroup, which is X2b4. This follows down the female line so I got it from my mother who got it from her mother who got it from her mother etc. My three sons will all have X2b4, but their children will not. They will have the haplogroup of their own mother.

I discovered that the haplogroup X2b4 is very rare yet widespread and where it is found in abundance is in the Orkney Islands in the north of Scotland. It seems that ancient people of that haplogroup travelled to far flung places like the Orkneys, Nova Scotia (the Miq Maq's), but they originate from the Levant, Syria and particularly amongst the Druze community in Israel.

If you haven't already done so, I encourage you to get your d.n.a. tested. You never know what you will find.

Tuesday, 18 October 2016

I have always been fascinated by the idea of growing enormous pumpkins. On Saturday Larry and I went to the annual Pirton Village Pumpkin show to see this year's exhibits. We weren't disappointed. The giant pumpkins were every bit as big as last year's and the one that one it, not shown here, was the biggest ever. More about that later.

There were also other giant vegetables. See below a huge beetroot, a wonderful display of colourful gourds and an enormous marrow.

The show is held every year in the Village Hall, which is an ideal place. Tables for the exhibits are set out around the hall and although the huge pumpkins are there, it is the children's entries that draw the largest crowds.

See some of the children's exhibits below:

I love the pink elephant below:

It was hard to get close enough to the exhibits to take photographs properly because of the crush of people. Everybody wanted to take time and look at each one individually, because so much work has gone into each one.

We bought three pots of preserves, which we will no doubt enjoy in the next few weeks and went home well satisfied with the smell of the barbecue in our noses as we left!

Friday, 16 September 2016

Larry and I have been to the seaside, dipping our toes in the briny water and breathing in that lovely salty air. It did us good! I don't know about you, but a few days away is so invigorating, I don't know why we don't do it more often!

What you see above is the North Sea on a misty morning in Kessingland on the east coast of England. It could well be the most easterly point of Britain now because the sea has been depositing more and more sand on this shore and could well be usurping Lowestoft as our most eastery point. There are many places on the east coast which have suffered from erosion recently, but not this one. It took us a good ten minutes to walk down to this point from the promenade. Maran grass has been planted to hold and fix the sandy shores and it has become a very popular place for dog walkers.

I have been coming to this beach for many years, since the early 80's in fact and in those days the sea came right up to the promenade at night when the tide was in. Now you can't even hear the sea from the promenade.

This is the view looking back to the houses and pubs, which used to be right near the sea-line.

It began to drizzle with rain after a while so we headed back to The Sailors' Home pub, but when we got there, it was still closed for cleaning purposes, so we headed further into the village to find a coffee shop.

This is an old picture of Beach Road, in past times, but it has still retained its character and doesn't look much different now.

We had coffee and a welcome sit down in a pretty little cafe at the end of Beach Road and then caught the bus back to Lowestoft.

Monday, 22 August 2016

No, I'm not going anywhere. I've just been thinking about the parting cup. That is the last cup we share with friends for one reason or another. This is one of my favourite songs, written by Bob Dylan a long time ago. Do read it slowly and take in the words. It always brings a tear to my eye.

Restless Farewell – Bob Dylan

Oh all the money that in my whole life I did
spend

Be it mine right or wrongfully

I let it slip gladly past the hands of my
friendsTo tie up the time most forcefullyBut the bottles are doneWe’ve killed each oneAnd the table’s full and overflowedAnd the corner signSays it’s closing timeSo I’ll bid farewell and be down the roadOh ev’ry girl that ever I’ve touchedI did not do it harmfullyAnd ev’ry girl that ever I’ve hurtI did not do it knowin’lyBut to remain as friendsAnd make amendsYou need the time and stay behindAnd since my feet are now fastAnd point away from the pastI’ll bid farewell and be down the lineOh ev’ry foe that ever I facedThe cause was there before we cameAnd ev’ry cause that ever I foughtI fought it full without regret or shameBut the dark does dieAs the curtain is drawn and somebody’s eyesMust meet the dawnAnd if I see the dayI’d only have to staySo I’ll bid farewell in the night and be goneOh, ev’ry thought that’s strung a knot in my
mindI might go insane if it couldn’t be sprungBut it’s not to stand naked under unknowin’ eyesIt’s for myself and my friends my stories are
sungBut the time ain’t tall, yet on time you dependAnd no word is possessed by no special friendAnd though the line is cutIt ain’t quite the endI’ll just bid farewell till we meet againOh a false clock tries to tick out my timeTo disgrace, distract, and bother meAnd the dirt of gossip blows into my faceAnd the dust of rumors covers meBut if the arrow is straightAnd the point is slickIt can pierce through dust no matter how thickSo I’ll make my standAnd remain as I amAnd bid farewell and not give a damn

It is adapted from an old Scottish traditional song called 'The Parting Glass' which was sung at the end of a gathering of friends before Robbie Burns wrote Auld Lang Syne. The song is also popular in Ireland and amongst Irish communities.

Here is Sinaed O'Connor's beautiful version:

As we get older, we can't help but wonder if this or that will be the last time we ever do that thing or see that person. Life creeps up on us and suddenly there is more sand in the bottle of the hourglass than there is at the top! This isn't necessarily a bad thing because we have stored up so many memories over the years and we are able to dip into them whenever we feel like it! They come to us unexpectedly sometimes and give us pleasure in the remembering.So what do you do to remember? Do you just sit and think or maybe look through old photo albums? Perhaps meeting up with an old friend who has shared the same memories as you opens the channels of memory. I do all of that and more. Music, smells, all those things bring back those lovely times of the past, which are all the better in the looking back!

'Indian Balsam

Impatiens glanduliferaIntroduced as a garden plant from the Himalayas in 1839, and naturalised along waterways and in waste places, this tall, stout-stemmed species grows 100-200 cm high. It is hairless and the stems reddish. There is no mistaking the rather orchid-like, mave, dangling flowers.Flower: purplish pink, 2-5.4 cm, petals 5, forming a broad, lower lip and hood; sepals 3, lower forming a mauve, spurred bag.

Friday, 29 July 2016

Do you like to see where other people live and work? I know I do, so today I'm sharing with you my little workspace. This is my study, if you will. This is where I have my computer, files, books etc. and I love it. This is where I am when I write to you. This used to be my dining room, but we needed the room where all this stuff was before so everything had to be rearranged. It took some doing and it's a bit of a squash but now everything is to hand and so far I haven't lost anything.

My cottage is small, but it has many rooms and corners. I like it that way. Larry and I are not minimalists, as you can see!

I took the pictures from each aspect. The door you see below leads off to the kitchen (left) and the toilet (right).

Now, I would like to see where you are when you write or spend time on your computer? What is your den like?

Friday, 22 July 2016

This is my grandson Sammy. He's three now and a very fun-loving little boy. He has been to the seaside recently and here you can see him enjoying himself in the sand.

Mummy had some me-time too.

With Daddy exploring the shoreline! When I look at this picture below, I think that to a child, all is well so long as you hold tight to Daddy or Mummy's hand. The whole ocean is spread out before you, but no need to worry about the roar of the waves or those strange looking creatures that you find on the sand. All will be well. Just keep your parent in sight. Doesn't he look small in this one!

Here is Sammy having fun in a tent with his cousins. He's the one in the middle.

This is my first photo with my new grand-daughter, Ruby Skye, and her older brother Dylan. I am a very proud Oma indeed. They came to visit with me this morning and we had coffee in the garden and fun with the grandchildren. Ruby is one month old already. I can't believe how the time has flown during this last month.

Dylan broke up from school yesterday for a six week break. This is his first school year and he came home with a very good school report the other day. In England the children break up for the summer around about the 21st July and go back on or near the 5th September.

Dylan loves his little sister so much. It is wonderful to see the two of them together and watch Ruby's eyes focusing on her brother while she smiles. She already knows his voice and enjoys his presence.

Dylan has been rewarded for his wonderful year at school with a new bicycle and he is so proud and delighted with it. He rode it round here this morning to show it off.

He is riding it uphill on stabilizers and it was a little hard to get it going at first, but he will soon get the hang of it. Happy memories!

Tuesday, 12 July 2016

My goodness! What a lot has happened over here since I last blogged on here. As of tomorrow (Wednesday), we will have a new Prime Minister, Theresa May. She has lots of experience and will be a wonderful Prime Minister, I'm sure (I hope). Her main opponent was Andrea Leadsom, but her lack of experience at the top went against her and Theresa May had more support. Larry was amazed at how quickly things happen over here and wished it could be the same in America. I said we always took our time to deliberate, but once the decisions were made, we moved fast.

The new blogs are through a different Google Account, which was purely unintentional. Somehow I ended up in a different place. Google is attempting to rule the world, I think and I have found all sorts of interesting corridors to wander down.

I have been fascinated by all things political, right from the referendum to now and the interest will continue into the future as we negotiate better deals for our country and more openness with the rest of the world. I voted Leave because I felt that belonging to the European Union was far too restrictive for our country. We need to be free again. The future depends on our negotiators!

Saturday, 18 June 2016

Well, here she is at last - Ruby Skye Smith. She was born yesterday morning at 7.36 and weighed 9lbs 2 ozs. Isn't she lovely? Ruby is my first grand-daughter, after five grandsons so you can imagine how excited we all are. Her brother Dylan, who you all know, was very excited yesterday. He was with me in the afternoon until his daddy came and fetched him and took him to the hospital to introduce him to his new big sister.

We did some colouring.

This was a very special day and I felt privileged to be part of it. We witnessed the birth of a family, which is now complete - mum, dad, brother and sister. Any more children would be a bonus.

So, welcome to the world little Ruby. I hope you have a very happy life.

Tuesday, 14 June 2016

Hello people, one of my blogging friends has just informed me that unless you are a member of Google + it is not possible to comment on my blog! I had no idea this was so. I'm sorry if this is inconvenient for you. It certainly is to me.

Yesterday I tried to write a post on the main computer and my blog had disappeared. What is going on? I started a new blog on the blogger site but it doesn't appear in my list here! Weird. So now I can get to this blog on my IPad, but not on my computer and I can only access my new blog on the computer. I can't access this blog on it.

I prefer to write blogs on the computer because my IPad doesn't know how to add pictures. Anyone else had this problem?

When I looked at the blogger forum it seemed that many people have had disappearing blogs. How odd is that.

Tomorrow my daughter in law goes into hospital to have her baby. There is much excitement in the family. I'll let you know what happens. I have my phone handy.

If anyone wants to look at my new blog, it's called 'Oma's gardening blog'.

Wednesday, 8 June 2016

We've had some odd weather this Spring and Summer. Now we are into June, I can say that May was a very cold month - just a few days of sunny weather, but the plants have done their best and so far, this is what we have. Above is the ever lovely clematis - The President it's called.

Underneath is my beautiful pink rose - so old that I can't remember what it is called. It is ever faithful and seems to be very disease resistant. I have sprayed it with Rose Clear, to get rid of any aphids,, but there haven't been that many so far.

I think the next one is Verbena. I bought it three years ago as a small shoot at a plant sale in aid of Lilley Church. It has done extremely well in the garden and is very pretty to see.

Lilac flowers have been prolific this year, but with some severe winds the other day, most of the blooms are spent now.

Opening up the canopy of my holly tree has given the ice plant (in the next picture) a lot more light and it has responded accordingly. We look forward to some really nice blooms soon.

Aquilegias (Grandma's bonnets) never fail to please and here are some of this year's examples reaching up to the sky.

I've been busy lately. Our eldest son has come back home to live temporarily. That has necessitated a huge rearrangement in the house. My office room is now downstairs so that he has his own room. We are hoping that he can soon find a job and independence. These days that has become harder and harder to do for young and not so young people. We wish him well.

What with all the gardening and rearranging of furniture, the days have flown by and already we are one week away from the arrival of the latest grandchild. She is expected on 22nd June, just one day before the E.U. Referendum happens. I expect to be up most of the night for either of those events so I'm trying to get as much sleep as possible now.

Can I ask you if there is any (annoying) reason why you aren't commenting on my blog? I don't know from where I sit whether the word verification has come on and is putting people off or whether it is because you are all using your Ipads more and can't be bothered to type a comment. I would really like to know?